Saturday, August 6th Grand Opening Party for Metro Detroit's Newest 2ND & CHARLES Location

To celebrate the opening of Metro Detroit's newest 2ND & CHARLES location which is located along Macomb County's M-59 shopping corridor in Utica, Michigan the retailer is hosting a party.  On Saturday, August 6, 2016 the eclectic retailer, which specializes in the trading of books, video games, vinyl records, and collectibles, will officially debut its new location with a grand opening party.  There will be fun photo ops, giveaways, and contests throughout the day.

Festivities commence at 10 am and run through 6 pm.  Activities include meeting costumed characters, family-friendly activities, and a Nintendo video game tournament.  Attendees will also be able to enjoy delicious fare at the retailer's debut of the ChuckStop, 2nd & Charles first on-site coffee bar.  The retailer's ChuckStop will offer a selection of hot and cold beverages, whole-bean coffee, full-leaf teas, pastries, snacks and more for shoppers who visit the store.

GRAND OPENING EVENT SCHEDULE

• 10 am - Noon:  Meet and Greet character appearances with photo opportunities; free face painting and balloon art for children.

• 10 am - 4 pm:  Register for prizes and giveaways throughout the day including several $100 gift cards and a $500 one.

• 11 am - Kids story time and activities.

• 4 - 6 pm: Nintendo gaming tournament in The Arena

2nd & Charles buys and sells new and used books, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray, video games, game systems, vinyl records, comic books, electronics, toys, collectibles and more.  Customers wishing to sell their own used items can check them upon arrival and redeem for cash or store credit.  2nd & Charles is know for drawing a diverse audience of gamer fantatics, pop culture junkies, movie buffs, and bookworms to peruse the 300,000+ items available at each store stocked on more than three miles worth of shelf space.

"2nd and Charles is far from any typical book store," Scott Kappler, vice president of marketing told A Geek Daddy. "We are all about one-of-a-kind discoveries in almost every category: pop culture, comic books, vinyl records, collectibles -- you name it! Each store is truly a treasure trove of books, accessories and games galore.  You could easily spend hours browsing the aisles and you really never know what you'll find!"

The new store located at 45290 Utica Park Blvd is east of the Hall Road (M-59) / Van Dyke Freeway (M-53) intersection near the Dave & Busters arcade.  It joins an Auburn Hills location adjacent to Great Lakes Crossing Outlet mall.  For more information about the 2nd and Charles in Utica, visit 2ndandcharles.com/locations/utica-mi  Regular hours for the 2nd & Charles Utica store will be Monday through Thursday from 10 am - 9 pm, Friday 10 am - 10 pm, Saturday 9 am - 10 pm and Sunday 10 am - 8 pm.

A Daddy Daughter Date @ Pie Five Pizza

My daughter and I had an enjoyable evening out for some bonding time while having dinner at Pie Five Pizza.  The chain recently opened their first restaurant in Michigan and invited A Geek Daddy out for a complimentary meal to check the place out so we made a daddy daughter date night out of the opportunity.

The newly opened Michigan restaurant is in the Metro Detroit suburb of Southfield at the intersection of 12 Mile & Telegraph Roads (NW Corner)...24532 W. 12 Mile Road to be exact.  The premise of the place is that you can select anything you like from their selection of crusts, sauces, cheese, veggies, and meats to make your own personalized for one price of $6.99.  Then they'll make up your pizza right in front of you and have it baked up and ready to eat in 5 minutes.

If you want a little bit more to eat beyond your personal pizza with unlimited toppings, Pie Five Pizza also has a "bundle" for $9.99 which includes a pizza, side salad or desert, and regular sized fountain drink.  Not in the mood for pizza?  They also have a variety of salads you can order including Classic Italian, Chicken Caesar, Greek, and Spinach.  What I thought was pretty cool was that they make the bowls for their salads out of pizza crust.  You can literally eat your salad bowl at Pie Five Pizza.

Pie Five Pizza's theme is "any pie or salad, any way for $6.99" so we really made sure to test out making our pizza pies just the way we wanted them.  For my daughter that was actually pretty simple as she had them make her up a crispy artisan flat bread cheese pizza with tuscan marinara sauce and a blend of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheeses.  My selection was a bit more customized pan pizza that included bacon, grilled chicken, red onions, black olives, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and minced garlic.  CLICK HERE to check out their full menu to see what type of pizza or salad creation you'd make at Pie Five Pizza.

My picky eater daughter really enjoyed her pizza so Pie Five Pizza gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood, the Southfield Pie Five Pizza location has "Happy Hour" Monday - Thursday from 2 - 6pm deal of  a $5 pizza with unlimited toppings.  Stop by and tell them A Geek Daddy blog sent you!